
[ Spoiler alert for those who haven’t read part one of Max’s journey. You have been warned. Find the article here: “Marked By Trauma” ]
We all desire peace; we all desire tranquility. It’s part of our God-given design. That’s not to say we never experience sorrow or regret. Far from it. Rather, God is able to provide us with much needed strength. In such cases, we can endure life’s storm while giving Him the glory. Life’s storms can open the opportunity to love the unloved. Life’s storms allow us to see God as He is. It involves characteristics such as honesty, integrity, and patience. These traits are what God finds joy in. This is what gives our life purpose and meaning.
To find ourselves is a rather large task. It’s a task that needs much more effort than to spend eight or ten minutes reading an internet article. Nonetheless, to find ourselves is a treasure in and of itself. Among the human experience is that of emotions — such as guilt and shame. Satan treats us just like Vecna taunted Max. Satan takes a seemingly small amount of truth and turns it into a narrative that never took place. This is Satan’s source of power. Satan’s inability to lie and manipulate is just like a lion without claws or teeth. The weakness of Satan’s power is that of God’s peace and love.
May we replace Satan’s lies of despair and unworthiness with the truth and power of God’s voice.
The show introduces Max as a kid who has a very tough and assertive personality. This is likely caused by her stepfather’s physical abuse. She also keeps her emotions to herself, as Max sees things like therapy and relying on friends as a sign of weakness. With that said, Max doesn’t shy away from danger. She’s willing, in multiple instances, to put her life in harm’s way for the sake of saving others. It’s very similar to how Billy gave up his life as well. The song Running Up That Hill by Kate Bush does a great job of symbolically describing Max and her inner beliefs. Nora Felder, the music supervisor for Stranger Things, explains this in fantastic detail…
“In the face of Max’s painful isolation and alienation from others, a ‘deal with God’ could heart-wrenchingly reflect Max’s implicit belief that only a miracle of unlikely understanding and show of support could help her climb the hills of life before her. In Max’s situation, the need for a ‘deal with God’ can perhaps be metaphorically understood as a desperate cry for love — to manifest the extraordinary understanding and support Max needed while feeling so painfully alone”
~ Nora Felder, music supervisor for Stranger Things
To summarize the quote, Max assumes the only way she can endure life is to find the love she’s never had and could never reach. The only chance she has to find such love is “to make a deal with God.” Her attachment to the lyrics also relates to her unselfish desire to take her brother’s place. She would rather die than watch her brother die.
It’s commonplace for us Christians to talk about the logic of invisible things. We can keep talking about how God loves us, God is with us, and God is going to give us a beautiful future. Yet, we still suffer because those aren’t physical answers. When our stomachs are empty, it doesn’t ease our hunger. When we are sick, it doesn’t remove the affliction. When we are cut, it doesn’t stop the bleeding. The solution we desire is out of reach; we’re forced to find an unconventional route. You might have every bodily sensation tell you to lie down and give up. But the only way we survive is if we fight back. This is especially true of the struggle in having a mental illness.
If life is about money, would it be enough if we were poor? If life is about meaningful connections, would it be enough if we were lonely? If life is about legacy, would it be enough if we were forgotten?
With that said, the answer is the one we don’t want. It’s the unconventional route. We’re forced to make full meals out of breadcrumbs. We’re forced to make a small coat be enough to withstand a snowstorm. Those with mental health struggles are familiar with the unconventional route. You can’t just “get over it.” Mental health struggles force you to fight self-destructive forces. (Hint: I say “forces” regarding the natural weakness of the flesh) But there is good news: God is the director of the unconventional route. Do you live in fear? God can offer courage. Do you endure sadness? God can provide peace and contentment. Is your heart overwhelmed with guilt and shame? God can offer gentle forgiveness. Do you struggle with anger, envy, or jealousy? Just as with any problem, God is always with us. How does God provide for these things? By the discerning of Christ’s love and sacrifice for us, the reminders of our God-given promises in His word, and the thoughts of guaranteed eternal happiness that await us in heaven.
If life is about money, then God has paid the price. If life is about meaningful connections, then God has us near His heart. If life is about legacy, then God always has us on His mind. If life is about hope, then God makes us a promise. It doesn’t matter how you see it: God makes it all worth it.
We continue our story from our previous blog (“Written In Blood”). Max is marked as Vecna’s next victim. Death is inevitable. For her last day to live, Max requests her friends to drive out to her brother’s grave. She wants to talk with Billy one last time. Despite initial pushback, her friends agree to drive her to the cemetery. She requests to be alone while our other heroes wait in the car. Little do they know, Max enters the trance a day early. Vecna’s sickening sense of humor is apparent as he decides to kill Max at her own brother’s grave.
One of her friends gets the thought to check on her — in which he discovers Max has entered an irreversible trance. He calls for the other friends, but there’s nothing they can do. Max is alone in Vecna’s trap. Her death is written in blood.
We watch Max in her mind. In her escape from Vecna, she runs into an unknown site. With nowhere else to go, she walks forward into the fog. Max finds herself in what the others in the show call the “upside-down.” It’s a hellish-looking place with rocky spires and intense lightning. Despite the odd setting, she continues forward. What she doesn’t realize is she has entered into Vecna’s own dimension. She is no longer in the physical world.
Vecna waits among the spires. He has set a trap for Max.
As stated in previous articles, the show’s writers have made it clear that Vecna is a manifestation of depression and mental illness. Vecna is also the epitome of Satan himself. Both Vecna and Satan have similar tactics: Validate first, then gaslight. With that said, Satan is a master of manipulation and deception. Always remember this: Satan’s goal is never to promote truth. Satan’s only goal is for you to worship him — not God. There is no other motive. Satan finds it worthwhile if his bombardment of lies and deception means for you to be his servant. Let’s say it again: He has no other motive. Don’t let Satan have a stronghold on your heart. When in moments of immense guilt, don’t rely your answer on Satan’s lies. Instead, rely on God’s truth. It’s through self-honesty, self-compassion, and our love of God that we find the answer. Rest assured, there is an answer. And the answer God holds is one of freedom and love.
Max finds herself surrounded by strange spires made of what appears to be tentacles. Among those spires are the dead bodies of Chrissy and Fred. They are Vecna’s victims.
Max is marked as next.
Some people climb mountains to reach the top. Others climb mountains to escape the valley. The unseen torment of trauma is that it doesn’t simply extinguish; it persists. It continues to inflict pain. Healing doesn’t take place in one instance. Healing is a journey. And sometimes, a victory could be as small as enduring one more day. Then, you wake up the next morning to climb the same mountain.
The good news of the gospel is that we don’t have to be perfect. It’s okay to be weak and frail. It’s okay to not be okay. Why? Because God is perfect for us. And the strength of God is evident in that He can turn our sins and struggle into power and purpose. It’s through God’s authority, voice, and promise that we can endure one more day.
“… he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life…” ~John 5:24–28
The song we reference is “Running Up That Hill.” Among those lyrics are the cherished words, “Come on darling, let me steal this moment from you now.” It’s a whisper of salvation. It’s God who desires to take our place. Yes, we are marked by trauma. And yes, our fate is written in stone. But Christ is willing to intercede and take our place. Christ is willing to walk into the claws of Satan Himself and say, “Take me instead.” We are set to be strangled by our own guilt and shame. We are destined to have our bodies broken. But the beauty of God’s grace is that we are provided a savior, Jesus Christ. God’s grace needs no reason. It doesn’t have to make sense. The power of God confounds the wise. And those who observe the authority of God’s voice are left speechless…
Come on angel, come on darling.
Let me steal this moment from you now.
Above all, remember this: God doesn’t represent the friends on the other side. Nor is He the memories of your past. God is more. God is the gateway that gives you hope. God is the melody that gets your attention. And God is the one who doesn’t want to lose you. What you have now is all that you need. God is among us. Be at peace.
We don’t need to make deals with God — we need only to accept the gift He’s already given.